Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
CORROSI ON CONTROL
The Effect of
Overhead AC Power
Lines Paralleling
Ductile Iron Pipelines
By Richard W. Bonds, P.E.
Last Revised:
November, 2014
Conductance
Problems involving conductance can occur during
construction and also after installation. Electrical
conductance can be caused by direct contact or
ground fault conditions.
If accidental contact were made between an
energized AC conductor and a metallic pipe, the
pipe would rise to the potential of the conductor
until the AC line is de-energized. Fortunately, this
type of direct contact is very rare.
Electrical conductance can also be caused by a
ground fault. In an electrical transmission system,
the full potential of the circuit exists across the
insulators separating the energized conductors and
the tower. If lightning strikes between the tower
structure and an overhead cloud, the potential of
the tower could be raised to an extremely high
voltage, which might result in the potential across
an insulator to be in excess of its rating. When this
occurs, an ionized air path will be created between
the circuit conductor and the tower structure, which
permits current to flow from the electric circuit to
the tower structure, from the tower structure to
earth and, via an earth path, back to the point of
generation (Figure 1). Because the impedance in the
ground fault circuit can be significantly lower than
the normal circuit impedance, the magnitude of the
fault current can be much greater than the normal
balanced phase current.
FIGURE 1
Ground Fault
Cloud
Lightning
Current
Electromagnetic Field
FIGURE 4
Induced Voltage Calculation
FIGURE 5
Effect On Electrically Continuous
Perfectly Coated Pipelines
FIGURE 6
Effect On Non-Electrically Continuous
Perfectly Coated Pipelines
FIGURE 7
If the pipeline is electrically discontinuous, as is
a Ductile Iron piping system, induced voltage is
virtually non-existent. The effect of non-electrically
continuous Ductile Iron Pipe with a perfect coating
is shown in Figure 6, and comparison of it versus
an electrically continuous pipeline with the same
coating is shown in Figure 7. For a bare pipeline, the
induced voltage is essentially zero along the length
of pipe with possibly a slight rise at its ends. This is
shown for an electrically discontinuous bare Ductile
Iron Pipeline in Figure 8, next page.
FIGURE 8
Effect On Non-Electrically Continuous
Bare Pipelines
References
1. Galimberti, C.E., Corrosion of Lead By Alternating
Current, Corrosion, 20(5): 150t-157t (1964).
2. Williams, J.F., Corrosion of Metals Under
the Influence of Alternating Current, Materials
Protection, 5(2): 52-53 (1966).
3. Pookote, S.R. and Chin, D.T., Effect of Alternating
Current on Under ground Corrosion of Steels,
Materials Performance, (March): 9-15 (1977).
Conclusion
A consequence of AC power lines and buried
pipelines sharing rights-of-way is that AC voltages
and currents can be induced on the pipelines by
conduction during ground fault conditions and
by induction from the expansion and contraction
of magnetic fields. The magnitude of the induced
voltage and current on the pipeline is a function of a
number of variables, including the length of pipeline
paralleling the AC power line, the longitudinal
resistance of the pipeline, and the resistance of the
pipeline coating.
Ductile Iron Pipe is manufactured in nominal 18- and
20-foot lengths and employs a rubber-gasketed
jointing system. These rubber-gasketed joints offer
electrical resistance that is sufficient for Ductile
Iron Pipelines to be considered electrically discontinuous. In effect, the rubber-gasketed joints
segment the pipe and prevent magnetic induction
from being a problem. Also, in most cases, Ductile
Iron Pipelines are installed bare and are therefore
essentially grounded for their entire length,
which further prevents magnetic induction on the
pipelines. The fact that Ductile Iron Pipelines are
electrically discontinuous and normally installed
bare significantly reduces the potential difference
between the pipeline and the surface ground
during a ground fault condition. Additional safety
precautions for ground fault conditions could
include the installation of potential gradient control
mats at exposed valves, hydrants, etc.
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